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Grotta Azzurra Review
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Grotta Azzurra 
- Address: Grotta Azzurra, Anacapri | Map It
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Blue Grotto
- Category: Bodies of Water
- Location: Anacapri
Fodor's Review:
Contrary to the legend claiming that the Blue Grotto was discovered by two travelers as recently as the 19th century, the truth is it has been an island landmark since time immemorial. Extensive sub-sea-level remains as well as several large statues (now on view at Capri's Certosa museum) reveal it had been in use as the elegant, mosaic-decorated nymphaeum of the adjoining Roman villa of Gradola. Historians can't quite agree if it was simply a lovely little pavilion where rich patricians would cool themselves in preparation for midday picnics, or if it was a site where sacred rituals were practiced. It is thought that Tiberius may have accessed the grotto through Anacapri's cloaca maxima (sewer) from his adjacent Villa Damecuta.
The Blue Grotto famously burst upon the modern consciousness with its rediscovery on August 18, 1826, by the Polish poet August Kopisch and his Swiss friend, the artist Ernest Fries. Two years later, the poet Wilhelm Waiblinger wrote an ode to it as a tribute to the era of Romanticism and man's "return to nature." It subsequently inspired Hans Christian Andersen's 1835 novel, The Improvisor, a 19th-century bestseller that triggered an unending flow of Grand Tour visitors to Capri.
The Grotta Azzurra can be reached from Marina Grande or from the small embarkation point below Anacapri on the northwest side of the island, reached by bus from Anacapri. If you're pressed for time, skip this sometimes frustrating and disappointing excursion. You board one boat to get to the grotto, and you have to transfer to another smaller one in order to get inside (the opening is only just over 3 feet high). If there's a backup of boats waiting to get in, you'll be given precious little time to enjoy the gorgeous color of the water and its silvery reflections. Instead, tour Anacapri first, then head to the Piazza Vittoria for the bus that connects the town with the seaside grotto. Be prepared to dicker with the boatmen at the grotto entrance. For more information on the Blue Grotto, see the "Romancing the Stones" feature in this chapter.
- Cost: EUR 18.50 from Marina Grande, EUR 8.50 by rowboat from Grotta Azzurra near Anacapri
- Open: 9-1 hr before sunset, closed if sea is even minimally rough
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